Australian Defence Adviser Brings Personal Connection To Malaysia Posting

By Wan Muhammad Aslah Wan Razali

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 (Bernama) -- For Belinda Edmunds, Malaysia is more than a diplomatic posting; it is a place woven into her family’s history across generations, shaped by war, resilience and migration.

Now serving as Defence Adviser at the Australian High Commission, Group Captain Edmunds said her personal connection to Malaysia dates back to the 1800s, when her ancestors first arrived in the region.

She shared that her great-grandfather, a British civil engineer, played a significant role in the infrastructure development across Malaya and Singapore, including roads, bridges and aerodromes.

“He was a British man, and he came here and married a Malaysian woman. He was a civil engineer, so he was very senior, and he had a lot of roles in the construction of the roads, the bridges, and the aerodromes,” she said in an interview.

Her family’s story is also marked by hardship during World War II, when her great-grandfather was captured and imprisoned as a prisoner of war in Singapore.

“He was mistakenly captured as military personnel and endured harsh conditions as a prisoner of war in Changi and Sime Road prisons.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people died while in prisoner of war camps because the conditions were incredibly harsh. Fortunately, he survived. He never really recovered fully, but he survived,” she said.

During that period, her great-grandmother and her daughter—Edmunds’ grandmother, who was born in Ipoh—fled from Kota Bharu, Kelantan, to Singapore before evacuating to Scotland. They returned to Malaya only after the war.

Her family’s journey took another turn when her grandmother met an Australian serviceman stationed in Malaya during World War II. The two later married and relocated to Australia in the mid-1950s.

“So it’s really given me a very great sense… of the culture and the history and the incredible resilience of the Malaysian people,” she said.

Edmunds said this deep-rooted connection continues to shape her perspective, allowing her to engage with Malaysia not only through defence diplomacy but also through personal understanding.

“I feel like I have a deep connection, not just through the Australia-Malaysia defence relationship, but personally as well,” she added.

Drawing from both personal ties and professional experience, Edmunds described the Malaysia-Australia defence relationship as one that has developed over more than seven decades and continues to evolve.

“We have such a big relationship here. We have Australia’s largest defence cooperation programme globally with Malaysia. That’s how significant the relationship is for us,” she said.

She noted that cooperation spans joint operations, training, technological collaboration and people-to-people ties, reflecting the depth of engagement between the two countries.

Among the key initiatives is Operation Gateway, Australia’s longest continuous-running operation globally, conducted in partnership with Malaysia.

“We’ve done more than 3,500 sorties over 45 years,” she said, adding that both countries also work closely under the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), including exercises such as Bersama Shield and Bersama Lima, with growing emphasis on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) and cyber defence.

She also highlighted the US$169 million Butterworth infrastructure project, which brings together Australian and Malaysian engineers to redevelop the airfield at Butterworth Air Base, a facility both nations first collaborated about 70 years ago.

Reflecting on her time in Penang, where she lived with her husband and two daughters, Edmunds described the Malaysian community as a defining part of her experience.

“The people… just so beautiful. It’s a wonderful community,” she said, noting the support from local staff and the close-knit environment she encountered.

As both nations prepare to observe the 111th ANZAC Day on Saturday (April 25), Edmunds said the occasion remains an important moment of remembrance.

“It’s to commemorate and reflect and remember those who sacrificed their lives in conflicts. Particularly here in Malaysia, we recognise those, New Zealanders, Australians and Malaysians, who have lost their lives,” she said.

She added that the families affected and those who continue to suffer as a result of those conflicts are also remembered.

Edmunds also recalled visiting Pulau Aur, the site of a 1999 aircraft crash involving the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in an F-111G fighter jet, where personnel continue to honour those who lost their lives.

“We lost two of our most prominent, renowned, elite fighter jet pilots and navigators in that aircraft crash. And so we come back periodically to commemorate and to always remember their sacrifice,” she said.

ANZAC commemorative services will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu, culminating in a Malaysia-Australia Defence Alumni event in Sabah.

-- BERNAMA